With increasing numbers of students and lack of on-campus property to house them, university towns are starting to fill more and more with student lets and it can be an extremely rewarding way to let property. It is important that before deciding to buy into the student property market, you fully understand the market and regulations.
An advantage of investing in student property is increased yield. This occurs due to the fact that more people will be paying rent on the same property, with some landlords even choosing to convert living spaces into accommodation a standard 4-bed house could quickly swell to 5 or 6 bedrooms. This itself comes with a risk, before converting a room you must distinguish whether your area is covered by Article 4 Direction or not, if it is then you will need to apply for planning for change of use when converting living spaces into bedrooms.
Another benefit of student lets is the fact that you are not relying on one tenant to pay the rent, our Belvoir Leamington Spa office puts all of their students on to a joint tenancy agreement to ensure all tenants are responsible for paying their own rent for their own accommodation, they also ensure each individual has their own guarantor in place.
When it comes to finding the right property to invest in for the student market, if it is near a university is it bound to be popular. In university towns, all types of properties are in demand, bigger properties are likely to command a higher yield due to the fact more tenants are living there. It is worth remembering that like with every tenant, students will be looking for different types of properties – some may have the budget to pay for luxury accommodation, whereas others may need to live on a stricter budget, however, no matter what type of property it is, the majority of students will want to live close to their university campus, or at least have good transport links.
For many students, moving away to university will be the first time they have lived away from their parents and they may feel quite vulnerable. Having a reputable agent managing your properties and providing the tenants with the support they need will help take the stress away from you as a landlord. Some things that need to be taken care of regularly include inspections, regulation and clear communication with the tenant, ensuring this is done properly is key.
Visit your local Belvoir office’s website to see if they offer a student property service. You can find and contact them here.
